It's better out West.
Adventures from our home in Colorado Springs and our cabin in the mountains. Gardening, prepping, dog wrangling, ranting, etc. I can't promise anything here is useful but it's our way-back machine.
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Saturday, September 5, 2015

Doghouse for cats? Suggestions needed.

Rabies the cat is still hanging out in the woodshed, along with 2 of her kittens. They are fairly big kittens (not quite 2 hands long) but I'm worried about the coming winter. We aren't cat people, but I don't mind them hanging out and crapping all over the yard... They aren't going to appreciate when we add more wood to the shed, but our survival and warmth comes first, always. They currently live under the woodshed floor.

I'm thinking that to help them survive the cold winter I might build a doghouse with thick foam insulation on the walls and roof. Perhaps run an extension cord out with a light bulb and a timer/temp sensor so when it's under 36 the light bulb comes on. The roof will have to be fairly tall for the lightbulb to hang. Bedding perhaps some hay or an old dog bed.

This setup is what we used in the pump house growing up most of the time, and only in the coldest of winters did we have a space heater running. Since we aren't here every night that kind of setup might work, along with some kitty food on the days we are in the area. Part of me thinks they won't use it and that its a waste of time, I just don't know about cat things. Growing up my cat and her kittens would live under the house in the floor insulation.

Should we build some kind of a door? Perhaps some rubber strips hanging down so they can go in and out and it helps hold heat.
Regular insulation or thick foam?
Wasting our time or worth the effort?

11 comments:

Honestly it's a waste of your time. Outdoor cats will keep warm. They'll crawl through the smallest opening and make a "nest" in the wood pile or somewhere you'll never find. My cats barn dwelling and outdoors end up in weirdest areas. I've never had one freeze to death but also never had one use cat house of any kind my children have build plenty for them. Never lived in. Possibly add couple handfuls of straw to top of wood pile in the middle area. They'll spread it to their liking if they want it. Yes it does get really cold here all winter. Below freezing for long periods.

I think we will put some hay around the area and see if they pull it into the 'den'. That and some kitten food when we are there will hopefully get them to survive the winter. But if they start breeding, it's going to be cat soup.

We used to have a dog crate that we put blankets in or old down coats for our cats and then draped a big blanket over the whole thing. It was kept on the porch. Cats loved it. Sometimes, our dog would keep them company, too.

I build mine a straw house every winter, in a sheltered spot by the edge of the covered porch. One bale thickeness on top and sides, a thick straw floor, and just enough of an entry way to squeeze through. It gets a lot colder in the mountains here than it does down in South Georgia, where cats get by perfectly well without precautions. We get to around ten below zero now, I imagine you get a lot colder out there in your area.

I'm thinking about putting bales around the entire woodshed base, they are cheap and it might help keep the wind and cold out. Was thinking about doing it on the cabin as well, especially since everyone is predicting a cold winter, it might be a good idea. In the spring we can just pack them to the dump.